Fragile

Chapter 9 - Run In

My stomach flipped.

Eric followed my gaze, then smirked. "Ohhh. Is that her?"

I tore my eyes away quickly, gripping my glass tighter. "Shut up."

Michelle gasped, slapping my arm. "No way! That's your mystery woman?"

"I never said—"

"Oh my God," she cut me off, eyes wide. "That's Leah Williamson."

I sighed sharply. "Keep your voice down."

Eric's eyebrows shot up. "Captain Leah Williamson?" He glanced back toward the group, unimpressed. "You buried the lead on this one, Ev."

I groaned, dragging a hand over my face. "Can we not make a thing out of this?"

Michelle ignored me, staring at Leah like she was putting the pieces together in real-time. "Wait. Wait. You ghosted Leah Williamson?"

Eric whistled. "Damn. Ruthless."

I glared at them. "I hate both of you."

But before either of them could respond, I saw Leah glance toward our table—just a quick sweep of the room—before her eyes landed on me.

And then she froze.

Her expression shifted in half a second—surprise flickering in her eyes, something like hesitation tightening her jaw.

I swallowed hard, my pulse suddenly way too loud in my ears.

Eric leaned in. "Do we wave?"

I smacked his arm. "Don't you dare."

Michelle was grinning like she was thriving off my suffering. "Oh, babe. This just got interesting."

I had barely recovered from the initial shock of seeing Leah here—of her eyes locking onto mine across the room, of the way my entire body reacted before my brain could catch up—when she moved.

She stood up from her table, said something to one of her friends, then casually made her way toward me, her stride easy, purposeful.

Oh shit.

Michelle and Eric immediately stopped talking, both of them watching with way too much interest as Leah approached.

I could feel my pulse hammering in my throat, my grip tightening around my glass as she stopped beside me.

And then, before I could even say hi, she placed a warm hand on my waist and leaned in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my cheek.

Holy shit.

"Hey, Ev," she murmured, her voice low, easy, like this was normal. Like she always did this.

Like she hadn't just made my entire body short-circuit.

I swallowed, turning my head slightly to meet her gaze. "Leah."

She smirked, her thumb grazing my waist before she let go, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Didn't expect to see you here."

I blinked, trying to remember how to function. "Yeah. Just... out with some coworkers."

Leah's eyes flickered to Michelle and Eric, both of whom were staring like they were watching the season finale of a drama series.

Leah smirked. "Friends of yours too?"

I sighed. "Unfortunately."

Michelle beamed. "Oh, I like her."